Adventure 14
On Their Own The party now knows the Orbis Magisters are in possesion of Book of Vile Darkness, which is the final key for Pride to cast a spell that can give he immense power. After getting in contact with Gwydion, they discovered that he knows the location of the Orbis Magisters HQ, because that is where he has been hiding Abigail. Loral must depart and join with the remaining virtues and gather their forces. He knows where this final spell will be cast, and he must be there with a strong enough force to stop Pride if the players cannot keep the book from him. Not So Secret Library Gwydion teleports the party to the HQ and gains them entrance. They meet Jeryth Bridgemoor, the founder of the organization, and Lucius Unthwright, one of the original members and the mentor of Veronica Greystag. They immediately notice that both of them are undead in the same way that Veronica is, and it's because they all underwent the same ritual. With help from the head of security, Decius Adarian, the party plans a defense of the Orbis Magisters HQ, knowing full well that the forces of Pride will soon be on their way. Gwydion makes sure that Abigail is hidden away again before he returns to help in the battle. Pride Goeth Before The Fall The forces of Pride invade, entirely neutral evil outsiders called Yugoloths. They are comprised of dozens, if not hundreds of Mezzoloths, four-armed grunt soldiers, and a half dozen Ultraloths, which are powerful spellcasters. As the forces advance, the players lower gates one at a time, going further and further into the keep. They use primarily ranged attacks to thin the ranks as the forces break through gate after gate. Eventually the entire group is moving back towards last room, which has a secret exit if they lose everything. Then an attack comes from the back. Betrayal and Betrayal Someone (it eventually turns out to be Veronica) gave the forces of Pride the location of the secret exit tunnel, so they attack through their. Decius Adarian tries to guard their flank, but they begin to lose. The party rallies the forces and they realize there is an end in sight of these Yugoloths. Several of their leaders drop and it looks like they are going to win. Just as they are about to win, they are betrayed again. Jeryth Bridgemoor turns on them, grabbing the Book of Vile Darkness, and teleporting away with it to give to Pride. When he does this, Decius Adarian is slain. Though the players defeat the forces, they lost the book, and many of the Orbis Magisters are now dead. One Spell Can Change The World The remaining Orbis Magisters members, under the leadership of Lucius Unthwright, lick their wounds and bury their dead. They discover a note from Veronica Greystag who takes credit for the forces of Pride finding the secret entrance. She apologizes for this, saying it had to be done, but she especially is sorry to Abigail. No one is sure what that means. The party, with Gwydion's help, head to the battlefield. They arrive to see the army, around 500 strong, lead by Loral, Kara Dunwall, and Akordia Eveningfall. Abigail is with them, being held behind the front lines under the protection of the Virtues. They are in the field that once contained a small army of demons that were defeated by Umbrose (Adventure #4). On the other side of the field is the armies of Pride, only 300 strong. However, those with good vision can see that Pride has the Book of Vile Darkness and is casting the spell. As the armies advance towards each other, a crack appears in between the two armies. It widens and expands, opening a giant maw in the middle of the earth. Instead of their just being a hole, though, this opening is actually a portal to Hell, and the denizens of Hell begin to pour out. To Arms The players take up leadership positions in the army and charge into the fray. Though the beasts of Hell are attacking both sides, not carrying enough in their battle to pick a side, they are now standing between them and Pride. They charge forward to defeat their enemies. As they advance forward, slaying demons, they realize that they are coming out of the portal faster than they can kill them. They forces of Pride are dwindling faster, but the forces of good won't be around too much longer either. Then, appearing seemingly out of nowhere, Veronica Greystag appears, wielding the Gauntlets of Ur'Rundyr. Loral tells the party {through the Virtuous Link) that the artifcat she wields are specifically designed to destroy evil outsiders, as evidence by her slicing them down with her hands with ease. One of the lesser known abilities of the artifact, however, is that by passing through an opening to any of the Lower planes, it automatically closes it. They watch as Veronica Greystag leaps into the giant hole in the middle of the battlefield, disappearing into hell and closing the portal forever behind her. Sacrifice Now that the portal is closed, they have one problem solved. However, there are hundreds of powerful demons roaming around the countryside, and with no apparent leader they will spread across the land. The number of deaths and horrible acts they will commit before they are all slain is unfathomable. Abigail, a young girl, realizes what must be done. She knew she was going to die, either for the Sins or Virtues. She knew she had be chosen for that role. And she knew that she could turn the tide of the war. Deciding what needed to be done, Abigail finds a weapon and quickly kills herself before anyone realizes what she's doing. Calling upon the power she has been granted, her sacrifice starts a chain reaction of energy that shoots out onto the battlefield. It envelops the demons and destroys them all, leaving Abigail dead, but none of the demons alive. Cleaning Up With the portal closed and the demons destroyed, the forces of good advance. They move in towards Pride and disrupt his casting of the spell, causing him to waste the ingredients that he had gathered. Foiled, Pride flees. His forces go into disarray and are defeated. As they tend to their wounded, a the side of good can't enjoy their victory too much. Many of the Orbis Magisters and the men in this army lost their lives. Pride is still in possession of the Book of Vile Darkness, despite the fact his spell components are forever lost, he could theoretically find them again. Abigail was dead. Then, Umbrose comes out of the Thanarian Deep and connects via the Virtuous Link. He reveals that he has a map to the location of the final battle, but he also discovered through some literature that the location has magical defenses that need to be activated if they will have any hope of defending it from Pride and his forces. To activate them, then need the Gauntlets of Ur'Rundyr. It seems that the party is literally going to have to chase after Veronica Greystag to Hell and back...